In the last few years new hybrids have appeared that have broad leaves. Most of them (as far as I know) are Dimetris’s hybrids. Some of these hybrids’ leaves are also short and rounded, similar to AV. These hybrids bring new aesthetic value to the Streptocarpus in general. It is also very practical since they do not take as much space as older hybrids. Some of these varieties also have much larger blooms. (Here I can only talk about Dimetris hybrids, which reach up to 5” in diameter.)

I know that some people think that a Streptocarpus can bloom for only a few months and then it needs to be started again. Here I wanted to show how to take care of these types of hybrids, so that they please us with longer blooming life. Broad-leafed hybrids should be grown as a single rosette. Otherwise two or more rosettes will compete with each other. The plant will look crowded and unpleasant. Eventually this plant will even stop blooming.

Among the hybrids with broad leaves you can find some that tend to grow a lot of extra rosettes, some that almost never do and everything in between. You can find examples of these in the Table/Catalog here. catalog-en/index.php under the “Main characteristics of the variety. “ There you will see column “# Ros” that shows the optimum number of rosettes for particular hybrids. Next column: “PhsCh” (physical characteristics) shows how prone the hybrid is to generating this extra rosette. For example, beautiful large hyper-double flowered DS-Elephant is prone to generate multiple rosettes. Other ones such as DS-Kalahari, DS-Tenderness and many other almost always produce one strong rosette. These types of hybrids have so called “Self-forming rosettes”. Please read the description of Self-forming rosette in Glossary here viewtopic.php?f=22&t=445

In this series of short videos I am showing how to take care of hybrids with broad leaves. Especially it is relevant to the ones that are prone to create sucker rosettes, like DS-Mysticism. I think that it is important to note that this feature can be beneficial when a grower needs quickly to produce many plants. These extra can be potted. If the rosette does not have roots, or the root system is small, they need to be put in the dome (see Glossary) after potting.

Wow, those videos are hugely informative. Thank you so very much. Also, DS Africa doesn't look as dark in your last video as I thought it was - it is lovely. Really appreciate your sharing these with us. Will help me a lot when it's time for me to clean up plants or to repot them.

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